Friday, November 17, 2006

The best stuffing comes out of the bird. You can mix it with the extra you baked in the oven and it will be delicious. In a gazillion years of turkeys I never had any problem with stuffing going bad. Here's my favorite recipe from a long ago page in the New York Times.

In a large bowl, combine the bread crumsb, chopped mushrooms, sage, tyme, savory, parsley, salt and pepper.Toss until blended.Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the minced shallots and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Stir in the ground chicken, breaking up any lumps, and saute the mixure until the chicken turns grayish white. Scrape the contents of the skillet onto the bread-crumb mixture and toss well. Adjust the seasonings. Cool and stuff turkey just before putting the bird in the oven Do not overstuff. Stuff both the neck cavity and the body cavity.

The secret to gravy is a good broth, good meat drippings and equal parts flour and fat. Lots of pepper. You'll have a nice broth if you cook the neck and giblets in salted water with a bay leaf and a handful of celery tops. Salt and pepper again. Throw in some parsely. The neck meat can also be added to the stuffing.

My kids ate giblet gravy for years without knowing it, because I only used half the liver and incorporated it into the gravy as a paste. No weird lumps. And thus we share our shabby little secrets.

If you are pressed for time, buy Pepperidge Farm stuffing with herbs and do the following: saute scallions or shallots, along with sliced or chopped mushrooms. Add to the stuffing mixture along with a generous handful of chopped fresh herbs. Use real butter and the stock you made from the turkey. Make sure the stuffing is moistened enough. Accept compliments gracefully.